38 national minimum standards for elderly care homes launched for consultation

Person-centered care, dignity, privacy, physical and mental wellbeing, self-fulfillment, autonomy and empowerment, equality and the right to complain and legal recourse are the principles underpinning the national minimum standards for elderly care homes.

The consultative document has been launched for a three-month consultation period ahead of a final document that will be legal binding.

Launching the document during a visit at Zammit Clapp Hospital, parliamentary secretary for the elderly Franco Mercieca said setting minimum standards was a very important step in elderly care.

The drafting of the document took its time, but according to Mercieca this led to 38 good standards being proposed.

“It is not only about establishing the size of a room but ensuring that care given to the elderly is patient oriented and improving their quality of living inside the homes,” he said.

An elderly woman asked whether a round the clock doctor would be available at the homes. Noting that it was a “valid” point, Mercieca said one of the targets of the national minimum standards would be to ensure that a continuous assessment of medicines prescribed to the elderly takes place.

The proposal for an individual care plan suggests that this plan should reassessed every six months. Mercieca conceded that this would inevitably impact the number of nurses and care workers at every home.

The national minimum standards will require all elderly homes – whether run by the state or privately owned – to adhere to these requirements. The junior minister said most of the homes today already adhere to these requirements. However, timeframes will be set to allow residential homes to conform themselves to these requirements.

The introduction of a grandfather clause – a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations – may also be applied.

The document also calls on elderly homes to promote a culture of active ageing, insisting that the mission of the home should go beyond the traditional concept of elderly care.

“The home must enable residents to realise their full potential for physical, social and mental wellbeing,” the document reads.

Among the 38 minimum standards there is also reference to the passing away of a resident, where it should be ensured that at the time of their death, staff will treat them and their family with care, sensitivity and respect according to their religious beliefs.